What Really Really Happened
by Novice Comic Lover
Summary: Writers always get things wrong. Here's the real story behind the X-men Evolution show. Lance's POV with major Lancitty, but of course hints of Jott, Romy, Kurty, Kurmanda, and several other pairings. Read with What Really Happened  Kitty's POV .
1. Chapter 1

She was right about one thing: it did all start one night at a club. What she didn't know was that I had started watching her weeks before we actually met.

Something about this girl intrigued me. I had seen her around school, but I hadn't paid much attention. At school she was the nerd, the goody-goody, the perfect little girl that got picked on by everyone else. I kind of felt bad for her in a way, but she didn't seem to mind it so much. It was one night I was at a club that I saw the real her, though. Pete and Griff had dragged me to a club, saying that's where all the hot tail was. I just laughed at them. We usually hung out at this same little dive bar, and I did just fine with the small selection of girls there. But I came with them anyways, figuring it would be easier to just go along then point out that the girls weren't the problem when it came to them not getting any. Not feeling very comfortable in a room with a disco ball and radio-popular music, I hung out in the dark corners and just watched. That was when I saw her, a small girl with slight curves, moving on the dance floor like the music was coming from within her. She looked like an entirely different person, moving gracefully against the awkward guy I recognized as Ross, the football star. What was a girl like her doing in a place like this with guys like him?

I continued to frequent the club, night after night, watching her from the shadows anytime she came in and feeling numb anytime she didn't show. Pete and Griff couldn't figure out what was up with me. They had gone to the club with me a couple times, but realizing they weren't having any better luck, they were ready to go back to our old haunt. I refused, making up excuses about the drinks being better, which they weren't, or claiming that I liked the DJ, which I didn't. Not being the brightest of guys, they agreed and tagged along, trying their best to find a little love on the dance floor.

Tonight wasn't all that different, at first. I was leaning against a wall, not far from the bar, where I was now known by most of the bartenders well enough that I only had to nod and they handed me a drink, and close enough to the dance floor that if she showed up, I would surely be able to see her. Then there she was, across the room, unknowingly mirroring my actions. I watched her lean against the wall, casually stirring her drink while her eyes moved about like she was looking for someone. For a second, I let myself wonder if maybe all this time, she had really seen me watching her when I thought I had been so well hidden. Maybe she was looking for me, like I had been looking for her. But I shook off the hope that was building, watching her eyes settle every so often on different people. No, she was looking for someone, but it wasn't anyone in particular.

Then her eyes caught with mine. I couldn't move, standing there like I was pinned against the wall by her icy blue eyes. She looked me over and then started to move in my direction. I couldn't believe my luck. I thought about trying to meet her in the middle, but that would mean the dance floor, where I refused to go no matter how good looking the girl was. Plus, in case she wasn't looking to come my way, I'd look like a total idiot if I showed up in front of her. No, I'd play it cool and hang by the wall. I was watching her make her way through the crowd when Ross came out of nowhere and got a hold of her. With a groan, I watched as she turned towards him. About to give up hope and look away, I saw her pull back from him and casually bump into another couple, starting a domino effect that ended with drinks getting spilled all over Ross. I made my way towards her, not caring about how uncool I looked, as she giggled and backed away from Ross. At the edge of the dance floor, she backed straight into me.

"Not bad," I tried hard to act nonchalant as she whirled around gracefully to face me. She was so close to me, that if I just bent my head down I could… no! Got to stop daydreaming here and pay attention.

"Excuse me?" she sounded kind of ticked, and only then did I realize that I was rudely looking her over. I couldn't' help myself, my eyes had a mind of their own as they traveled up and down her slight curves, appreciating every little bit of her.

"You managed to cause quite the little scene and still get away," I decided to clarify on my last statement and pretend like I hadn't just been mentally undressing her. I pointed my index finger over her shoulder to where Ross was now in a fist-fight with a couple of other guys.

"I was just trying to…" I looked down and noticed that her face was flushed and she seemed anxious, like she was feeling guilty about it. There was no need to feel guilty, Ross deserved whatever he got.

"Yeah, some guys don't like the word no," I laughed, trying my best to smile in a not creepy way. I didn't want her to think I was that kind of guy, when I was just trying to comfort her. "Maybe a girl like you would be better off tucked safely in your bed."

"Are you offering?" she suddenly leaned in and purred. Whoa, this girl was full of surprises. I had been picturing her sound asleep, looking totally innocent and peaceful and here she was putting all kinds of other images in my head. I needed to get a grip here or I was going to need an ice cold shower pretty soon. I told myself she was probably just testing me, making sure I wasn't some creep that would act like Ross and throw myself on her.

"I'm just suggesting you stay away from places like these with guys like that. A little girl such as yourself isn't safe around here," I mentally high-fived myself, thinking that sounded pretty gentlemanly and protective. That had to have aced the creep test.

"I'm not a little girl, and as you can see, I can take care of myself," she spat and her eyes narrowed as her hands settled on her hips. I couldn't believe this. She was ticked when I was just trying to be a good guy. Didn't every girl want the white knight that came in to save her ass riding on a white horse and didn't expect a little action in return? What was up with this girl?

"Hey, I'm being kicked out. Let's go," Ross had worked his way over at just the wrong moment. I was about to apologize and assure her that I knew she could take care of herself, but that I wanted to be there for her. Instead, I worked up a glare and threw it at the damned football star.

"She already turned you down. Take a hint," I grumbled, setting my drink off to the side and preparing to gather my fists.

"Mind your own business," Ross stepped between me and the girl. I just about knocked him right then and there, but he had a tight grip on her, and I didn't want to send him flying into her.

"Why don't you both get a clue," she shook Ross's grip from her and started to move away.

"I said let's go," she had been too slow and Ross was on her again. She was obviously struggling, but the guy was man handling her like a pro. That was it, I had to do something. Balling my hands into fists, I could feel the ground beneath listen to my commands, jostling the football player, and unfortunately the girl. Ross fell back and let his grip loosen as he tried to use his hands to brace himself against the wall. Without Ross to steady her, she was about to fly headfirst into the wall. I was about to stop the quakes and lunge after her, cursing at myself for not coming up with a better strategy when I saw her… slip straight through the wall? What the hell?

"Where did she go? What did you just do?" Ross rubbed his head and looked at where the girl should have been. I didn't even bother with him, I made my way through the crowd, pushing people aside as they all scrambled for somewhere safe to hide from the earthquake. If I hadn't been so freaked out I would have laughed, thinking if they only knew what had really just happened. Luckily, it didn't take me that long to reach the door, unfortunately Ross was right behind me. I looked around, but the street was practically empty besides the bouncer and several empty cars. Ross was behind me and saying only who knows what, as I wasn't paying much attention.

"Just shut up! What do you care what happened to her? Just go back inside and leave her the hell alone!" I growled, finally having enough of him. He stood there in shock and just pointed behind me. I whirled to find the girl sprinting past us and down the street.

"Hey!" I yelled after her lamely, realizing I didn't even know her name. I was about to go after her when Ross grabbed me by the shoulder and aimed a right hook at my nose. I was able to block it easily, but now I was going to lose time trying to catch up to the girl. Without another thought, I flung a couple punches his way while defending myself from whatever he could manage. He gave up after I landed a solid fist against his eye and another that cut up his lip.

"Whatever, freak. I'm not fighting a mutant over some piece of ass," he grumbled. I threw him a dirty look, my fist at the ready, and he flinched. I turned my attention away as Ross went back inside, and immediately began searching for her. I ran in the direction she had gone, but soon found no trace of her. She could have gone anywhere. I figured my best bet was a bus stop, and raced to the nearest one I could think of. There she was, the doors closed just as I caught a glimpse of her, slouched in a seat near the front. She looked miserable, and all I wanted to do was race after that bus. But instead, I watched dumbfounded as it pulled away. She had fallen straight through that wall back in the club. Was she like me? A mutant? I made my way to my jeep, parked a couple blocks from the club and drove myself home, forgetting all about Pete and Griff who were probably back at the club wondering where their ride was.

"Have a good night?" I opened the door to find my dad waiting for me.

"Uh, it was alright I guess," I shuffled my feet over to the chair across from him. Dad was pretty cool, so I knew something had to be up if he was waiting for me. He knew I went out, who I was with, where I was, and what I was doing, but he just shook it off as normal teenage boy behavior. His wife, my stepmom, wasn't so pleased, but that was more because she didn't want me to rub off on her precious kids, my half-siblings.

"Just alright? Not seismic?" he raised an eyebrow and I knew I was toast. My mutant abilities had shown up about a year ago, and it had been utter chaos. My stepmom had wanted to send me away to have me studied and fixed, afraid that I was contagious and would spread my terrible disease to the rest of them. Dad had stood firm though and helped me through it all. He had found ways to help ease the headaches, calm my nerves when I found myself accidentally shaking up the house, and he even made excuses for the quakes to anyone that looked at me warily. He had been great about the whole thing, but it had been under one condition, that I didn't use my powers to get into trouble.

"About that," I started, but he shook his head, flicking on the television where the news was reporting about the quake live from the club. I noticed Pete and Griff in the background looking pissed. They must have finally realized I was long gone. They, besides my family, were the only two who knew about my abilities, so they were probably the only two at the club that knew what really happened. I reminded myself to apologize for ditching them, especially since they took the mutant thing in stride and would probably only congratulate me for starting that kind of mass hysteria.

"It's all over the news. They're wondering if Northbrook is on an undiscovered fault line," Dad frowned. "Patricia is hysterical. It interrupted her Conan."

"I can explain. See, this stupid football player Ross was there, and he wouldn't let this girl go and…" I started to ramble to try to explain to my dad what had happened, but the more I talked the sillier it sounded to me.

"Lance," my dad cut me off. "I'm not questioning why you needed to do something. I'm questioning why you had to use your powers? Couldn't you have done something else?"

"Yeah, I know. I realized it was stupid right after I used them. Look, I'm sorry," I got up and turned off the TV.

"If you do something like this again, I'm going to be forced to send you away. I don't think either of us wants that," he got up and took my sore knuckles in his hands. "Put some ice on these. What'd you punch? Brick?"

"Close enough," I muttered and headed for the kitchen. I put a few ice cubes in a plastic baggy to rest on my knuckles before heading up to my room, where I laid in bed and thought about the girl who could move through walls until I finally fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning seemed like any other at first. My alarm blared while I groped aimlessly at the nightstand, my eyes still clamped tightly. I made some kind of grumbling noises while I stumbled around half-awake, getting cleaned up and dressed. I had finally become fully alert by the time I was making my way down the stairs, careful to slip out without running into Patricia. Forget breakfast, she would just nag me the entire time about last night and encourage my dad to not be so lax about punishing me. I stopped on the way to school to grab a breakfast burrito to appease my stomach which had growled loudly the second I hopped into my jeep. Once parked at school, I wolfed down the rest of the burrito. I got out, wiping my hands along my jeans, which were of course torn. Jeans never lasted long with the stuff I got into with Pete and Griff, they were typically cut up by barbed wire fences and singed by our pyromaniac tendencies. We weren't all that bad and we hardly ever got caught, but we were teen boys, so we of course had to push the limits of the law.

My mind was coming back around to think about that girl, the conversation I had anticipated for so long had gone a little differently than I had expected, so I played it over and over in my head trying to analyze it. I tried to shake her from my thoughts, but then I saw Ross curled up on the lawn with his girlfriend Riley and their friends were crowded around them. When Ross saw me, he flinched and quickly turned his eyes to the ground. At least that was one person I didn't have to worry would tell about my little… power trip from last night.

"Ross, what happened to your eye, baby?" I watched as Riley examined her boyfriend's head. I shot daggers at him from my eyes, trying to get the message across that he shouldn't bring me into it. Luckily, he actually seemed to get it and brushed off his girlfriend's concerns. I continued past them and wandered over to where I always met Pete and Griff.

"Look who it is, the earth shaker who pulled a Houdini on us last night," Griff nudged Pete and they both frowned at me.

"Yeah, sorry about that guys. I was a little busy with the football chump," I nodded over to Ross. "Did you guys get a ride from some babes?"

"Yeah, dude. In more ways than one," Pete lifted his hand for a high five, and even though I doubted it was true, I slapped him one anyways.

"So you're lucky, cause we're in forgiving moods," Griff added as I slapped him five, too.

"Yeah, well. I'll make it up to you guys somehow," I offered anyways.

"It was pretty entertaining, though. People were going freaking crazy about the quakes. It was like the apocalypse or something," Pete laughed and Griff joined in. I smiled weakly, but while they might think it was funny, I knew it had been a stupid move. Sure, it had worked, pulling Ross off the girl, but if it hadn't been for the freak accident that was her falling through the wall, she could have gotten hurt. There went my mind again, thinking about that girl.

"Yo, Lance? You on earth, bud?" Griff waved his hand in front of my face and I quickly focused back on reality.

"Yeah, I just uh… left my ciggs in my car," I patted down my pockets, but came up empty. I think I had a pack stowed away in the jeep, but if not I would just walk across the street to the nearest gas station and buy a new pack. I suddenly had a craving.

"You just wanna bum one?" Pete offered and both he and Griff held out their packs.

"Nah, I need to grab my headphones before class anyways," I declined and started back to my jeep. It was a lame excuse, especially since my mp3 player, headphones and all, was already safely packed away in the backpack slung over my shoulder, but I couldn't get out of my head. I figured I could be a little late to my first class and take a bit of a walk to try to clear my thoughts.

Luckily, I had an extra pack in my glove compartment, and I quickly lit a cigarette, taking deep drags which immediately soothed my mind. I had smoked it practically down to the filter by the time the last bell rang, so I casually snubbed it out and made my way back to the school. Walking down the quiet hallways, I found myself thinking about last night all over again. I tried to focus long enough to stow my backpack in my locker, shoving my mp3 player in my back pocket, and then decided I should probably go to class. I was a decent student, not all that great about participating, but always acing tests and getting by smoothly. Sure, it bugged most teachers that I sat in the back and listened to music all day, but they had too many students that actually needed their help to pass to worry too much about it. I was just pulling out of my thoughts about that girl, trying to force myself to forget how she looked with her hair down around her face and her small body, barely covered by that strip of fabric she called a dress, leaning in towards me, when I heard something.

"Hello?" a muffled voice sounded. I jumped, my first thought was that it must be a ghost. I almost laughed at how irrational that was, but instead decided to focus on figuring out who or what it really was.

"Hello?" I called tentatively.

"Help! I'm stuck in here!" I figured out that some poor nerd must have been shoved in a locker as I heard fist against metal as the yelling continued.

"Uh, which locker?" I looked at the long row and prayed that it wouldn't be too hard to break the lock.

"This one!" a girlish scream accompanied the lockers shaking and banging against the wall. Maybe the person that was stuck in there was claustrophobic?

"Whoa, calm down! I'll find you," I yelled back, deciding that I would have to use deductive skills and some good guessing to find the right locker.

"It's my locker. Number 413. Riley and Amy shoved me in," a sad voice answered. So they were calmer, but probably on the verge of tears. Great.

"That sucks, I'm sorry," I tried to sound soothing and friendly. Riley and Amy were two of the most annoying and rude girls in the school, which is why I thought Riley and Ross were well suited for each other. "What's your combination? I'll get you out."

"32, 16, ARGH!" I had reached the locker and was starting to work the lock when a blur of brown hair and pink cotton came tumbling into me, knocking me to the ground. I felt like the air had been sucked out of me as the other body crushed mine. Then I realized who it was on top of me, and I really couldn't breathe.

"You? You just…? Did you see what you just did?" I stammered, the excitement in me bubbling over the surface. It was the girl from last night, and she looked so cute with her disoriented face, her brown hair pulled back so I could really study her face. Her blue eyes widened in shock in which I guessed was recognition of me.

"Uh… what do you mean? I just fell out of the locker," she argued.

"Yeah, right through the door!" I couldn't help but smile. Here I had been walking down the hall thinking about her, and suddenly here she was.

"You're crazy. I don't know what you're talking about," she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself, and as I could feel her heart racing against my chest, I had a feeling she was more freaked out than I was about what had just happened.

"Yes you do. You just fell through the locker like you fell through the wall last night. And you're crushing me," I squirmed a little, not really wanting her to move except for the fact that I needed air.

"I didn't do anything," she sat up, but I was happy to find that she didn't move entirely off me. "You don't even know me."

"No, I don't. But I do know what I saw, and what I saw was that you're a mutant," I pushed up so I was sitting up, too. I hoped that keeping a smile on my face, which wasn't difficult around her, and being honest and friendly would win her trust and help ease her into this whole situation. I remembered how alarming it had been to realize I could make the earth shake, so I didn't want to scare her anymore than she already was. I found myself thinking that maybe, I could even help her. "Like me."

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" she quickly moved off me, her face full of fright. All I wanted to do was pull her to me and rock her back and forth, but I knew it was probably best if I let her have her space a bit while I tried to explain.

"I'm Lance, and see I have an… ability, too," I stood up and offered her a hand, but she pushed it away and got up on her own.

"Ability?" she looked at me partially curious, but mostly like she didn't believe a word I was saying.

"Yeah. You can move through solid objects and I can… well," I looked around, figuring proving myself and showing her that she wasn't alone was probably better than just telling her I could make the ground shake. Once I saw that the coast was clear, I balled up my fists and caused a tiny tremor below us. I felt her hand on my arm, her grip becoming tighter the longer the quakes lasted. Way to go, Lance. Terrify her. I stopped, ready to apologize for scaring her with my powers when she was having a tough enough time accepting her own.

"Wait… you… you can… you caused the quakes last night!" she moved away quickly, and I tried not to feel to upset about it. The spot on my arm where her hand had been was burning in an almost pleasurable sizzle.

"Yeah, well, I probably should have come up with a better way to help you with Ross, but… it worked," I shrugged.

"I didn't ask for your help," she crossed her arms over her chest, and I realized something I must have said was setting her off. It was like the conversation in the club, things were going fine until…

"You're welcome," I rolled my eyes. She wasn't the most conventional girl, was she? "Nice to meet you, too, Lance. My name is…"

"Did you give Ross that black eye?" I almost winced at her question. I had hoped that she would tell me her name and then we could talk about having powers. Maybe I could even help her with hers. But she was only concerned with the chump, of course.

"Yeah. The fat lip, too. But in my defense, he started it. I was just trying to go after you and make sure you were alright," I took a step closer to her and started looking her over, wondering if Ross had bruised her with his grip or if she had fallen hard in the alley when she'd gone through the wall. I figured it was a lot like just now, but she didn't have me on the other side to land on.

"I don't need a protector. I can take care of myself," she backed away slightly. Oh right, we had gone through this last night, too.

"Oh yeah, sure. You did a crack job taking care of yourself with Ross last night, and then again today with Riley and Amy. You don't need any help at all do you, princess?" there was something exhilarating about mocking her and fighting with her. I could feel my lips pulling into a smile as I watched her face get red with anger.

"Well, as you pointed out, I got out of the locker on my own. And I could have handled Ross, too," she stepped towards me and shoved her slender finger into my chest.

"Oh really?" I moved as close as possible without touching her, suddenly realizing just how small she was as I looked down on her. She seemed impossibly beautiful at this moment, her face scrunched up in defiance, that little mouth pursed. Thinking about watching her for all of those weeks, I wondered how all of those guys weren't hopelessly in love with her. "What's a girl like you doing with a chump like him anyways?"

"Uh… well… I… uh… none of your business," she blushed and I had to focus on keeping my hands from reaching out and caressing her pink cheeks. "Why do you care?"

"Uh… well… I… uh… none of your business," I tried my best to say it mockingly, but there was a tightening in my chest. A voice in my head had been asking that question for weeks now. Why did I care about what she did? She was just some girl, right?

"You're such a jerk," she cut through my thoughts.

"I'm a jerk? I've just saved your ass twice with no please or thank you and I'm a jerk?" I was trying to decide if I was impressed that she could push my buttons or frustrated by it. Both I guess. "You could use to learn to show a little gratitude, little girl."

"ARGH! I am not a little girl, so stop calling me one! And if I wanted your help, I would say please. If I needed your help, I'd say thank you. Otherwise, just… leave me alone!" she yelled and turned to leave.

"I'll see you around, you know, the next time I'm helping you out," I quickly wracked my brain for something that would catch her attention and keep her around. I didn't want her to walk away yet. "So, see you in half an hour?"

"How about never? That work for you?" she whirled around and I did my best to pretend that it didn't bother me in the least even though inside I was throwing a party.

"Ooh, feisty," I help up my hands as if trying to defend myself. "Kitten's got some claws."

"It's Kitty. My name is Kitty," she told me as her hands braced on her hips. "Not Kitten. Not Kitty cat. Just Kitty."

"Kitty," I let the name roll of my tongue as I studied her. It was such a great name for her. It was spunky and precious all at the same time, just like her. "It suits you."

"Really?" she looked so unsure of herself in that second that I found myself questioning all that I had seen of her. She always had an air of confidence about her, but it had been wiped away, and she looked so… loveable. What was going on with me? I don't think things like that. I don't fall for some small girl with an attitude.

"Sure it does. Here pretty Kitty," I cooed and spread my arms out. Even though I knew it would sound like a taunt to her, I found myself hoping she would leap into my arms like her namesake.

"Shove off… Ava-Lance," I laughed as she flinched, obviously realizing how silly it sounded even as she said it.

"Wow… that was… corny," I continued to laugh, but I kind of liked it, too. I think it had more to do with her calling me it than the cheesy nickname. "What are you going to call me next? Lancelot?"

"Oh, go to hell," she spat and turned to leave. I had a feeling that teasing her wouldn't get her to come back this time unfortunately, but I had to try.

"Rock you later, Kitten," I called after her, hoping that if I used a nickname she had deemed off limits she'd turn back.

"It's Kitty, Sir Quakes-a-lot," she answered without a glance back.

"Still weak! But we'll work on it!" I laughed heartily, my mind already racing, thinking about the next time I'd see her. She rounded the corner and was out of my sight. I knew I had to see her again. My pulse was quick, the quips we had exchanged setting me on fire. She was definitely passionate, and I started to wonder if she could affect me that much with just a few words, what could her lips do to me if she wasn't talking?


	3. Chapter 3

`I was still reeling, steadying myself against the lockers where minutes ago my whole world had come crashing down around me, well, on me. I was going over every second, dissecting and analyzing each and every word, a movement, a touch, looking for some deeper meaning, some hidden code. I had been thinking about this same girl for weeks now, and I had hoped that actually talking to, actually interacting would make her fade a little, just like any other girl, a challenge. Unfortunately, the minute she'd opened her mouth, I had become even more fascinated, dying to know just a little bit more, uncover just a little bit more about her. I was thinking about that first awful nickname she had given me, Ava-Lance. It really had been terrible, but for some reason I couldn't get it out of my head. I was playing the way she had spat at it me again when Pete and Griff came up.

"Yo, Lance. Earth to Lance?" Pete waved a hand in front of my face and I pulled out of my head to focus on my friends.

"What's with the space case act, dude?" Griff gave me a shove. "You hooked on some chick or something?"

"Yeah, right. Lance?" Pete chuckled. "He hasn't met a single babe that he couldn't bag."

"What do you guys want," I growled. "I'm headed to class."

"Class? Screw that. We're thinking the roof," Griff shared a look with Pete and then they looked back at me. We hung out at the roof of the school a lot, but usually between classes or during lunch or something. We had an in with the janitors, who bummed smokes off us, so they always left the roof access door just ever so slightly ajar, the alarm cut off.

"Nah, man. I already cut first period, I should go," I started to push up off the locker and turn.

"You're screwing with us right?" Pete's hand was on my shoulder and I turned.

"I'll catch ya there for lunch," I shrugged."I'm not in the mood."

"C'mon Lance, we got something that'll cheer ya up," Griff moved past me and towards the stairs, not even bothering to look back or question whether I'd come or not. Pete looked at me for a bit, his eyebrows knit together like he was looking at some homework or something, before following. With a sigh, I joined them, and together we climbed up to the roof. Once there, I saw what they were so excited about going to see: girl's gym class.

"Don't you guys ever get sick of gawking at…" but I finished that sentence, unable to remember what I had been about to say as my eyes caught a small girl with her ponytail bouncing as she ran onto the field.

"Look at how flexible that one is," I vaguely remembering hearing Pete as he nudged me and Griff, but I never looked over to see who he was talking about. I kept my eyes on her, Kitty, as she lined up for the long jump. She always looked so graceful on the dance floor, but even now, just watching her set up, I could tell she wasn't all that athletic. She took off, and just before she could jump, she tripped, falling face first into the sand.

"Ouch," I winced as she picked herself up and moved aside. Even from up here, I could tell she was humiliated, and Riley was taking a lot of pleasure in it. As Riley lined up, something inside me snapped and I felt my fist tighten. Just as Riley lept into the air, her form absolutely perfect, I forced the ground to rise up and meet her, sand pelting her and pushing her on her back. As people looked around in panic and Riley screamed, I felt a pair of eyes fall on my face. I waved to Kitty, feeling the corners of my mouth tug up in triumph. I guess she didn't see it that way though, because she headed for the school, running as fast as she had last night.

"I'm… gonna go. I'll see ya," I ignored Pete and Griff as I made my way down from the roof. I didn't know where she'd go, but I knew she looked upset and that I had to do something about it. I raced through the halls, heading towards the gym until suddenly I smacked straight into someone. I reached out and grabbed, trying to keep whoever it was from falling back before I even realized it was her.

"I told you I'd be helping you out again," but just as the words left my mouth I had noticed the tears falling down her face. "Kitty? What's wrong?"

"I… then Riley… and then you… and now she's… I want her out of my head!" she choked out between sobs. Out of some kind of instinct, I pulled her closer to me, trying to focus on what she had said and soothing her more than how it felt that she was curling into me.

"What do you mean she's in your head?" I whispered, doing my best not to let my body relax against hers. In some ways, it wasn't too hard seeing as some of the things she was saying were unsettling, but there was something so right about the way she clung to me.

"That girl, Jean, she's a telepath," she looked up and I tried my best to keep my eyebrows from rising. A telepath? "She knows… she knows what I can do and she knows what I'm thinking and…"

"Who's Jean?" I smoothed her hair back away from her face, where the tears were pooling. I couldn't wrap my head around the whole telepath thing, someone being able to know what you're thinking, but the name I could focus on.

"She followed me in. I was coming to yell at…" she trailed off, her eyes moving from my face and falling down to where her hands were gripping my shirt.

"Kitty?" I searched her, wondering what had caused her to derail.

"You!" she shoved her hands against my chest, pushing herself out of my arms. "I was coming to yell at you! To tell you to leave me alone!"

"Whoa, calm down. I'm trying to help you, remember?" I reached out for her, only wanting to feel her against me again, but she kept swatting me away.

"You're not helping! Riley thinks I did that! She accused me of starting the quakes last night, too!" she shoved a finger into my chest to punctuate her words, but I hardly noticed. "If anything, you made it worse!"

"Wait, Riley thinks you did that? Why?" I tried to wrack my brain for times I had used my powers when both Riley and Kitty would have been around, giving Riley any reason to think these things.

"Because that's what Ross told her," she snapped.

"I'm going to kill that bastard," I shook my head, feeling the anger seethe within me as I thought about that jerk. Of course he wouldn't say I had done it, even though that's what he knew, because he knew I could take care of myself. But some poor, girl who was already picked on enough, Ross could blame everything on.

"No, you won't. I'll just get blamed for that, too," she resigned with a sigh. "Plus, how many times do I have to tell you that I don't need a bodyguard?"

"Hm," I looked her over, noticing the tears were long gone and that snappy wit I found so intriguing was back in full force. "How about when you can take care of yourself, Kitten?"

"Kitty!" she dug her finger deeper into my ribs, making me remember it was there in the first place. "Why can't you get it right?"

"Because you're so cute when you're angry," I grabbed the wrist of the finger pushing into me and without a second thought, bent down to kiss her. I was shocked that she only tensed for a second before her hands were on my face and her body pressed into me as she kissed me back, but I was more shocked by the sudden presence of someone else. I jerked back, staring in confusion at this random girl that stood in the hallway watching us. She was real tall, with long red locks, her green eyes piercing me with a steady glare.

"Lance?" I heard Kitty say to me, but I couldn't form the words to a response. I felt like someone was tearing into my head, ripping through my thoughts, and I had this odd feeling that it had something to do with this strange girl. I focused on shoving her out of my head as I tightened my grip on Kitty's wrist, trying to ground myself by the sensation of her skin on mine.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the strange girl blushed, "but I need to talk to you Katherine."

"How do you know my name? Get out of my head!" I watched helplessly as Kitty screamed while I tried to process. Katherine? So Kitty was a nickname. And she was in Kitty's head? Wait, she was in mine. She's the telepath. So this is Jean.

"I'm not reading your mind. Look, I just want to talk," the girl, Jean, spoke evenly despite Kitty's raised tone and the anger I could feel bubbling up inside of me.

"About what? How I'm a freak?" Kitty spat, and this is when I turned to look at her. Her eyes were welling with tears, her voice unsteady. She thought she was a freak? My heart went out to her. I knew exactly how she felt, but out of all the many names I had for her, freak wasn't one of them.

"You're not a freak. I'm here with the professor of a school that can help you with your gift. We talked with your parents and they seem to think it'd be a good idea for you to come with us and learn control over it," Jean explained. I could feel my chest pounding and my breathing catch. She wanted Kitty to go? To some mutant school? Away from me?

"Go? To some mutant school?" I found myself voicing my thoughts. "Ship her off like she has some kind of disease?"

"Why would I need to go with you to some special school?" Kitty asked, and I realized that the girls were completely ignoring my comments. Just discussing this like it was no big deal.

"To learn everything there is to know about your ability. Why you have it, how to control it, when and where to use it…" Jean started to tick off the reasons on her fingers.

"I didn't need some fancy school to learn control," I huffed.

"Lance," Kitty elbowed me, but I rolled my eyes. This girl was probing into our heads and I was supposed to be polite? Screw that.

"Excuse me?" Jean looked at us expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

"He um, has an… ability, too," Kitty offered up after I stayed silent.

"Well, you would be welcome to come, too," Jean smiled politely. I could tell from how forced it was, how thin her lips pulled tight, that the last thing she wanted was for me to agree. I know where I'm not wanted, and I certainly was in no rush to be sent off to some freak school anyways. Hell, I'd been doing my best to avoid that for about a year now.

"Who said I wanted to go?" I snorted. Though, if I wasn't careful with the show of powers, I'd be shipped off in no time.

"Lance!" Kitty elbowed me again, and this time I felt the need to explain. After all, her powers were new and scary to her, she obviously didn't know anything about mutants and how the world saw things.

"I've heard of these types of places, Kitty. Your parents send you away to try to fix you, not help you," I bent my head low, whispering in her ear. Being so close to her, all I wanted was to bring my lips down on hers again. She tasted somewhat of bubblegum, like she was always chewing a piece. It seemed odd considering I'd never seen her chew gum in all the time I'd watched her. Man, I was starting to sound creepy to myself as I thought about it. I had practically stalked this girl for weeks.

"Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing. I mean, aren't you scared of what you can do?" she replied, biting her lip. I dropped her wrist, feeling hurt by her words. I had scared her with my ability when she was already so obviously freaked out by her own.

"We're not like that," Kitty and I both turned as Jean folded her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, right," I scoffed, remembering all that my Dad had told me, even though it was obvious that he had held back the worst stuff. He had fought to keep me home, keeping me from being just another research subject in someone's lab.

"No, really…" she started to move towards us.

"I've heard enough. I'm out of here," I cut her off with a wave of my hand and turned to leave.

"Lance!" I heard Kitty yell after me, but I didn't turn back. All of this talk was bringing up bad memories, watching my dad, a large and generally intimidating guy, cry as he told me what they would do to me. I turned a corner, debating whether or not I was going to actually go to class or run outside to grab another smoke, which I was kind of jonesing for suddenly. Deciding that class was already well in to session, I started to push on the door that led outside, but I heard something.

"Lance!" I paused, turning to find Kitty catching up to me. "Hey, can we talk about this?"

"Talk about what?" I shrugged, holding open the door and then following her out where we walked around the school together.

"Well, for one, the mutant school thing. It really set you off, and I just, I don't know much about this stuff," she started.

"Kitty, I… I can't talk about this," I shook my head, really wanting that cigarette now but afraid of pulling it out to smoke in front of her. I could tell she needed to know why, but I just couldn't get in to it with her. "It brings up some other stuff that I don't want to talk about."

"Oh," she bit her lip like she was holding back something. "Well, then maybe we could talk about something else. Like… you kissing me?"

"Uh," I stopped walking, feeling flustered. I turned to lean against the bricks of the school, trying to look at her without blushing. "About that…"

"Yeah, it was um," she paused and I watched her long lashes flutter nervously. "Well, you kind of caught me off guard."

"I, well, I…" I trailed off as I noticed she was rubbing the wrist I had been holding earlier. Damn, it looked red. Had I grabbed her too hard? "Did I hurt you?"

"What?" she looked at me confused and then followed my gaze to her wrist. "Oh, no. I'm fine, I just…"

"Sorry," I watched her arm drop so I could now clearly see the imprints I had left on her skin. "Here, let me see."

"Lance?" I heard her ask as I turned over her wrist, studying the marks I'd left.

"Hm?" I think I might have responded as I brought her wrist to my mouth, brushing a light kiss over the skin. It was some weird gut reaction like a mother kissing her child's boo boo that he got from falling on the playground.

"Um," and at this noise I looked up at her. Before she could say anything, I pulled her to me and crushed my mouth to hers. She wrapped her arms around my neck as I settled mine on her hips, and we both pressed ourselves into the other. My back had been resting firmly on the wall, but suddenly this weird tingle shot through my body from where my lips met hers and then we had fallen through, landing with a thud on the floor.

"Ow!" I groaned along with a few choice words.

"Did we just…?" Kitty's voice trailed off hesitantly.

"Fall through the wall?" I answered as the tingling sensation disappeared. "Yes. And now I see why it freaks you out so much. It definitely feels weird. And you're crushing me again."

"Oh, sorry," she rolled off me and swiftly stood up. I joined her, allowing my gaze to float over the room, noticing the familiar paint job, the oversized desk with the large swivel chair and the bookcase. The principal's office, a room of the school I knew well from skipping too many classes.

"Huh," I moved around, studying the random bobbles on the bookshelves. "I've never been in here without getting yelled at."

"You get in trouble a lot I take it," she eyed me as I picked up a random book from the shelf, some self-help book, and then put it back. "Not surprised."

"Oh and let me guess, you've never been in here?" I rolled my eyes, but moving closer to her.

"Sure I have," an electric shock ran through me as she playfully hit me. I narrowed my eyes at her, not believing for a second that she had ever found herself in the principal's office. "But not because I'm in trouble."

"Figures," I laughed. "So, I guess nobody knows you're not exactly little miss perfect. Well, except for me."

"You don't know anything," she shook her head, her face flushing.

"Oh, I think I know quite a lot," I took her challenge, thinking over all the things I had seen from her, thinking about all the ways she had acted, so innocent and then suddenly sultry. Thinking about how she seemed to be one person most of the time, submissive and accepting, but she could be a real spit fire when she opened up. Mostly, I thought about her face, each time her powers manifested, the way she had called herself a freak just after I had kissed her the first time. I had been thinking about her for so long, studying her, and now the words just popped out of my mouth. "You're not this little goody-goody you pretend to be all day. You prefer to let loose, but you're scared of how it feels or what people will think. And you're freaked out by this ability you have because it means you're not perfect and you can't hide that fact anymore. Sound about right?"

"Oh yeah? And what about you?" she argued, stepping up to me. Her eyes glared with defiance, but I could see a hint of something, fear maybe, or maybe it was relief, that someone had seen through her. "You're not such the tough guy you pretend to be all the time. You don't talk to anyone about anything, at least not anything important or real or tough. And you hate yourself for your ability, but you refuse to admit. So what do you think about that?"

"I think we can skip a lot of talking to get know each other and go back to making out," I forced a smile, trying to push her words out of my head. I told myself she was wrong, told myself that she didn't know anything she was talking about, but somehow I couldn't fool myself.

"I think you hide behind your little jokes," she crossed her arms over her chest, and at this I knew she saw through me as clearly as I saw her.

"What makes you think I was joking?" I moved closer, there was a fire in her eyes, and I felt it consume me as I looked down on her. "Pretty Kitty."

"ARGH! I said…!" but before she could finish telling me not to call her any nickname, I clamped my mouth over hers, drowning in the taste of bubblegum and the tingling sensation she sent all over my body. But I didn't slip through a wall this time, I just fell down a rabbit hole, my heart leaping out of my chest and straight into her delicate hands.


	4. Chapter 4

I was losing myself into the kiss just as I felt quakes shake our bodies. At first I thought maybe I was losing control and just shaking us, but then I realized I didn't feel that trembling feeling in my very core when my powers were at work. This was a real life earthquake. I broke the kiss, but brought Kitty to me, afraid of what might happen to her small and fragile frame.

"Lance?" her narrowed eyes looked up at me as I felt her struggle to move away.

"This isn't me, Kitty," I answered as I looked around the room for any possible hazards. When I looked back at her, the look of disbelief was as plain as day. "I swear!"

"An earthquake? In Northbrook?" I happily noted she moved in closer while also registering her immediately heightened sense of fear. "What do we do?"

"We need to get in a doorway," I answered quickly, remembering all of the earthquake safety my father had taught me in case my powers went out of control.

"LANCE!" I turned to follow Kitty's finger that was pointed at the large desk being sent our way. I tried to find an escape or something to block the weight of the desk, but the bookcase and office chair has us boxed in on one side and the windows were shattering on the other wall. There was nowhere to run.

"Can you phase us through it?" I asked hopeful that she was a fast learner while trying to scout out plan b.

"I can't just turn it on and off!" she screeched. Not seeing a better option, I moved to put myself between Kitty and the desk, hoping that my body would be able to shield hers at the very least.

"Yes, you can. Concentrate," I spoke as calmly as possible. She didn't seem to have much confidence in herself, so I hoped that boosting that would help her to control her powers, at least enough to phase herself out of harm's way. Her arms squeezed me to her, and she brought her forehead to press against mine as she shut her eyes so tight that I could see a vein popping out of her forehead. That now familiar but still unnerving tingling sensation spread from every place her body touched mine until I felt it in every fiber of my being. I held my breath and tried to fight the instinct to pull away. When the desk was safely behind us, I sighed in relief and smiled down at Kitty. She was still holding on with all her might and her eyelids were clamped together. When the quakes stopped, she cautiously opened her eyes and looked around. The next thing I knew, she was sobbing into my chest.

"It's okay, Kitten," I pressed a kiss to her head and hugged her tighter. "It's okay. We're okay."

"It's over?" she swiped at the tears on her face.

"Yeah," I cooed. "How do you feel?"

"Tingly," she whispered. "Both scared and relieved."

"You were amazing," I offered lamely. "You know that?"

"I wasn't," she argued. "I was freaked."

"But you did it anyways," I cupped her chin and brought her eyes up to meet mine. "That's what matters, Pretty Kitty."

"You think?" she asked genuinely. I frowned, wondering where the girl with the fight in her belly had gone. Had the earthquake scared her that much? Was that how she felt about me and my powers? "What?"

"I've called you two nicknames and you haven't yelled at me," I forced a small laugh and brushed some hair out of her face. "That really shook you up, huh?"

"We don't exactly have earthquakes in Northbrook, Lane. Of course I was freaked!" she pulled away with exasperation. I was glad to see the fight in her wasn't gone, but her words had proven to me that my fears were true. She looked up at me, and crinkled her brow. "What is it?"

"I didn't know how much it scared you," I mumbled. "How much I scared you."

"Lance," she let go of me, and I pulled away quickly.

"I should go. Maybe you should go to that special school. Get the help you need," I averted my gaze, unable to stand seeing her frightened of me.

"But," she reached for me. Whatever she wanted to say was quickly interrupted, though.

"Katherine!" the door flung open and there stood a man and a woman about the same age as my dad with the telepath.

"Dad? Mom?" Kitty's jaw dropped to the floor. I looked back and forth, noting resemblances and making sure I was unnoticed.

"Are you okay, honey?" Kitty's mom asked. She looked like a woman that on a normal day would be strikingly beautiful and elegant, but right now she was exhausted and unnerved.

"I'm fine," she answered as she looked my way. I tried unsuccessfully to blend into the wall behind me.

"Good. Let's go discuss… things… at home," Kitty's dad shifted his eyes from Kitty to me. I gulped nervously, knowing that I didn't usually come off well to parents.

"But I," Kitty was quickly cut off by more quakes. I groaned inwardly wondering why today of all days I was being faced with natural earthquakes, parents, and this girl all at once.

"I swear it's not me," I blurted out as out of instinct I pulled her to me. I took it as a good sign that she didn't resist.

"What does he mean? Who is this?" Kitty's dad glared at me.

"Katherine?" Kitty's mom squeaked. I looked around wondering what was going on. Could it be aftershock that I read so often happened?

"Aftershock," Jean nodded. I rooted through my brain, trying to figure out if she was in my head. I couldn't feel her though. "Come to the door frame!"

"Kitty," I immediately noticed a huge crack in the ceiling that would soon separate Kitty and I from her parents and Jean.

"Can you make it stop?" she looked up and studied the damage being done to the building.

"I don't know. I've always just started them and they stop on their own," I explained as I tried to feel the movements that were shaking the ground and find their origin as well as their paths. "I'll try."

"It's working!" I heard Kitty's voice as I strained to control the movement in the earth.

"I can't hold it," I managed to grunt as I felt the earth buck against my powers.

"Just a little longer?" I heard more than saw the fear rising within her as I was trying to focus more on softening the quakes. I could feel Kitty holding on to me, but she was shaking. Or was it me shaking? I couldn't really tell.

"We're going to need another way out. I think if I work with the quakes I can make a hole in the wall for us to get through," I explained as the plan came to mind. I could feel the earth as if it were an extension of myself, coursing in my veins while the quaking began to match my rapid heartbeat.

"But my parents," Kitty looked over to where they stood and my eyes followed. Jean looked to be meditating while Kitty's parents seemed to become more frightened by the second.

"They have to hurry. We have to hurry," I caved into Kitty's pleas as I focused to channel the earth's energy into breaking the wall to allow us to exit.

"Mom! Dad! Hurry!" Kitty screeched.

"Katherine, come here!" her father commanded.

"Maybe we should just go to the doorway?" Kitty looked to me. It was weird to see her being so submissive, but then I remembered that she was playing the perfect Kitty for her parents.

"I don't think so, Kitten. We need to get out of here," I groaned as I felt the earth trying to slip from my grasp as Kitty tightened her hold on me.

"He's right. We need to move," Jean's voice penetrated my thoughts. I looked from her to Kitty and realized that Kitty had her, too.

"I can't hold this much longer," I grunted. "Come on!"

"Dad!" Kitty scream alerted me to the bookcase flying in his direction. I pulled at the earth and it jerked the bookcase back.

"Let's go!" I demanded. Jean threw a shield around her and Kitty's parents as they came toward us. Kitty moved to join them, as one by one, they exited the building. I went to follow, but I felt the earth buckle and just managed to step aside as the wall crumpled in front of me. I was going to be entombed in the school.


	5. Chapter 5

Everybody has a different experience when they think they're about to die. Some see flashes of all of the things that matter most to them. Some see glimpses of what their life could have been. I just kept looking for an escape. I was beyond spent from the workout I'd given my powers trying to save the others, but I figured that I read stories everyday about mothers miraculously lifting way more than they should be able to so they can save their baby. If they could summon up herculean strength, surely I, a mutant, could figure out a way to save myself.

But it wasn't looking too good for me. Then all of a sudden I felt a strong grip on my arm, that creepy tingling sensation, and I was home free.

"Thanks for coming back for me," I kissed Kitty on the forehead as she leaned against me. She had pulled me out from what would have been rubble in seconds and I couldn't have felt like a luckier man. "Even though you shouldn't have."

"And thanks for catching that bookcase that almost fell on my dad," she countered with a knowing smile as she turned to face me. "So…"

"Katherine!" Kitty's dad stormed towards us and we quickly jumped apart.

"Oh, thank heavens you're alright! When we saw you go back in there…" her mom trailed off as she started shaking uncontrollably with every sob. The telepath tried to comfort her, but with little success.

"What were you thinking? You could have been killed!" Her dad continued to roar, seemingly unphased by his wife's outburst. "Not to mention what were you doing in the principal's office? You should have been in class! We were looking all over for you!"

"Dad…" Kitty started, but it was clear by h is puffy red face and his finger pointing that he wasn't quite done.

"I told you to come to the doorway and you didn't listen! I told you to stay home from school today and you didn't listen! What is wrong with you today?" He fumed.

"Um, sir," I cursed myself for getting involved even as I stepped in and offered the man my hand. "It's my fault. It's all my fault. I'm very sorry for any trouble I may have caused you and your family. If there's anything I can do to make up for it, you name it. I'm sure you'll want to discuss all of this with my father and I'll arrange something immediately. I also understand that you want to send Kitty to a special school where she can be helped and I fully support whatever decision you make there. If it's of any help, my powers manifested about a year ago, so I, and I'm sure my father as well, are happy to do anything we can to help you and your family through this."

"Kitty? Powers? What?" He stammered, suddenly losing his anger. I tried not to take offense that he hadn't reached to shake my hand. "Who are you?"

"Dad, this is Lance…" Kitty stalled and I quickly realized we still didn't really know that much about each other.

"Alvers. Lance Alvers, sir. Pleasure to meet you, though I wish it could be under better circumstances," I gulped and continued to hold my hand out in greeting even though it had started to shake.

"How do you know my daughter?" he all but hissed.

"Dad!" Kitty huffed.

"Well, um, we met, um…" I looked around hoping to find a quick excuse to keep her "perfect daughter" cover as intact as I could under the circumstances. Then the obvious answer suddenly dawned on me, "At school! Of course, we met here at school. She fell through a locker using her powers and I happened to be there."

"Fell through a locker? What were you doing in a locker? Did people see? Oh, Katherine!" he sighed with a dramatic flourish. I kicked myself for mentioning the locker part as I'm sure that's not something her parents would want to hear.

"It's fine, Daddy. Really. I'll explain at home," Kitty faked a smile, but I could tell she was already trying to figure out how to make this story work in her favor.

"Yes, home. Let's go home. The professor is waiting after all," he announced before finally looking right at me. "Uh, I, Kitty, we you. Oh, I don't know." He threw up his hands before taking his wife and leading her away.

"Well that went… crud," I scratched at my head as I tried to figure out just where exactly I had gone wrong. Pretty much from the beginning I suppose. "I just got you in a lot of trouble, didn't I?"

"It's been a long day. Just, don't worry about it," she offered and reached out a hand to me. "Come on. Let's go meet this professor guy."

"I don't…" I shook my head as I tried to figure out just how to explain everything that my dad had ground into my head since we had found out about my powers and what people who found out about them might want to do to me. I didn't think there was going to be any short or simple explanation, so I decided to go without one altogether. "I don't think it's a good idea for me to… go."

"The professor would really like to meet you," the telepath interrupted, reminding me that she was still hanging around. "We're not sure why we weren't able to pinpoint you and your powers before, but we'd like to take the time to find out."

"I'm not a lab rat," I growled under my breath, figuring she wouldn't hear me.

"Well, no," she countered quickly, reaffirming my belief that a telepath would be too much trouble. "We'd help you. We'd work with you to help you gain better control over your powers and learn all sorts of things about them. It's really a special place and you'll love it. I promise."

"Look," I cut her off before she could give me the full spiel. "I've heard about these places before and I'm just not interested. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go. I'm in enough trouble already and I really just… don't want to deal with you."

"But," she began again, but I turned around and left before she could promise some better life to reel me in.

"But Lance!" I heard Kitty call after me. I desperately wanted to turn around and take her with me, keeping her from the telepath, her overeager parents, and the professor, whoever he might be. But it wasn't my place. She had to make the decision to finally stand up for herself and walk away from this. As much as I may have wanted to, I couldn't make this decision for her. I walked up and over the hill on my way back to the parking lot, figuring I had about five minutes to hop in the jeep and race home before my father came looking for me. By now, news crews had shown up alongside the firemen that were pulling up, and it would be mere minutes before everyone in the area knew about the freak quakes that struck the school.

I was just pulling the keys out of my pocket when, "Yo, Lance? Dude!"

"Guys," I turned around to find Pete and Griff grinning from ear to ear.

"You look like shit, man," Pete clapped me on the shoulder.

"But those quakes… off the freaking hook," Griff added.

"Wasn't me," I shook my head. "That was all real."

"But we heard the principal's office was destroyed, so we figured…" Pete rubbed his head.

"You mean you didn't destroy the office?" Griff continued.

"Not on purpose," I grumbled.

"Oh, cause like… we thought you were pulling off some huge prank or something," Pete began.

"And we were actually kind of pissed you hadn't mentioned it. Like you did with the quakes at the club last night," Griff finished.

"Yeah, man. What was that all about?" Pete asked.

"It's a long story," I sighed, "See I met this girl…"

"Real funny, man," Pete laughed while Griff frowned. "No seriously."

"I am serious, Pete," I nodded.

"It's not like you to go all… nuts… over some girl. What's with you, dude?" Griff shook his head.

"She's not just some girl," I tried to explain.

"Ah, is she like you with the whole uh… earth shaking thing?" Pete looked around to make sure there was no one to overhear.

"Well, kind of, but that's not really the point," I answered.

"So what is the point, Lance?" Griff crossed his arms. "You've ditched us twice all for some girl?"

"I can't really get into now," I waved him off. "I got to go get my ass handed to me by my step mom."

"Are you going to continue to be a douche and blow us off for some tail?" Griff countered.

"Look, man, I'm sorry," I offered. "But it's not like that."

"What's it like then?" Pete questioned.

"Doesn't matter anymore," I mumbled, "It's over. She'll leave and I'll be grounded for eternity."

"Man, you used to talk to us," Pete looked from Griff to me, "about everything. Now you're all…"

"Weird," Griff finished as Pete nodded in agreement.

"You're right. And I'm sorry," I apologized. "If I ever get out from the house-arrest I'm sure to be placed on, I'll try to make it up to you somehow."

"Well if your step mom, the freaking witch, ever lets you see the light of day again, you can make up ditching us for some chick by giving us free rides for life," Griff pounded my fist with his with a smile, which I took as a sign that he forgave me

"Good luck, man," Pete offered a fist bump as well. "But seriously, rides for life."

"Deal," I smiled. "If only because I'll never live to fulfill it."

"Late," Griff nodded as I turned to leave.

"Much," I sighed and headed to the parking lot to grab my car and drive home.

"Dead man walking!" I heard Pete yell before he and Griff laughed. I shook my head wishing I could find it as funny as they did. I was screwed. There was no way I would be returning to my life in Northbrook spent hanging with my pals anytime soon. And even if I ever did, the girl of my dreams was gone for good.


	6. Chapter 6

"What were you thinking?" Were the first words I was greeted to as I walked in the house.

"Dad…" I started.

"No," he cut me off firmly. "I changed my mind. I'll do the talking for now. Did you realize that you could have hurt someone? That you could have hurt yourself? Someone could have figured out what you can do, Lance. We still don't know exactly what's going to happen. I just… I thought last night was a little slip, but this… this is huge! I have no idea what we're going to do. I guess we could move again, but if we go too soon it'll look suspicious. But if we stay here the chances of you getting caught are higher."

"Dad," I hesitantly stopped him in mid-pace. "That wasn't me. Those quakes. Those were real."

"Lance," he groaned.

"You've gotta believe me, Dad," I begged. "I know I've done some crappy things, but I would never do this. And I'd never lie about it."

"I have been wondering how you could suddenly become that powerful," he rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. "I mean Rebecca called me in a fit because the house was shaking and then it was on the news that the school had been badly damaged. That's at least 10 times the distance you've been able to hit before."

"Because it wasn't me," I explained again. "I promise. Whatever I've done before, you can trust that."

"Okay," Dad sighed as he slumped into a nearby chair. "But we're nowhere near a fault line, so I can't even begin to figure out how this could possibly happen."

"I don't know," I sat down on the couch opposite him. "I've been wondering the same thing myself."

"I'm glad you're alright," Dad offered. "But this has got me thinking. Maybe we should move back to California. Of all the places we've lived, that was the one place we worried the least about you getting discovered."

"And the place that made my headaches the worst," I countered. "All the movement there really gets to me. Plus you can't move everyone again just for me. We've moved four times in the past year before moving back here. Wasn't the point of coming back here to stay settled?"

"We came back here because…" Dad caught himself, "that doesn't matter. The important thing is that things have been good lately. But now…"

"Boarding school," Rebecca interrupted as she came in. "I told you when we came back here that if he pulled one more stunt, he was out of here. And you agreed, Jack."

"Honey," Dad began, pinching the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes tight, clearly preparing for the fight that would ensue.

"Don't honey me," she spat. "You let him off the hook last night. But after today? After he destroyed the school? There's no talking this away. He's dangerous, Jack. Can't you see that?"

"Says the witch," I mumbled.

"He didn't cause what happened today, Becca," Dad argued. "It's unfair to punish him for something that he didn't do."

"Didn't cause it?" she huffed. "It's never his fault that's he's such a delinquent, is it? Who's fault is it then Jack? Who made your son out to be such a… such a hood!"

"Who turned you into a royal bitch?" I muttered.

"Lance," Dad kept his voice steady despite the redness creeping up his neck, "Go to your room."

"And pack," Rebecca added with a cold glare. But I never moved to go because we all froze when the doorbell rang. "I bet that's the police," she grumbled as she moved to answer the door.

"Hello, is this the Alvers residence?" a smooth voice purred. "I'm looking for Lance Alvers."

"Of course you are," Rebecca threw up her hands and left the door wide open as she stomped down the hall to the master bedroom. Dad and I waited until she had slammed the door before turning to the stranger stepping through the door.

"Mr. Alvers, I presume," a tall, well-groomed woman closed the door behind her and held out her hand to my dad before looking over at me. "And Lance. A pleasure to meet you both."

"And you are?" my dad took her hand and offered her a seat.

"A friend," the woman answered curtly. "It seems you've been in a bit of trouble today, Lance."

"I'll ask you one more time and then I will literally throw you out of my house," Dad snarled, "Who are you?"

"My name is Principal Darkholme," she offered with a mysterious smile. "But you may call me Raven."

"Okay, Raven," my dad eyed her suspiciously. "I'm Jack, and as you already know this is my son, Lance."

"And I'll assume the _charming_ woman who answered the door is your wife," Raven winked at me as she said the word charming before turning back to my father. "Now that introductions are out of the way, can we get down to business?"

"What business?" I asked.

"Bold and to the point. I like that ," she commented before standing up to start her speech. "I'm the Principal of a well-respected school in Bayville, New York. We pride ourselves on having the brightest, best, and most talented student body. Ever. So my business, to be blunt, is you, Lance."

"I think you've got the wrong kid," I laughed. "I'm not a jock."

"Certainly not. But you do have other talents," she smiled as Dad and I shared a quick look. "You have great potential. You just need some nurturing. And a whole lot of discipline."

"I don't know what you think my son can do, but…" Dad began to stand up as he pointed towards the door.

"I think your son could prove to _shock_ the world with his greatness," she shot a teasing smile at me before continuing. "His schoolwork clearly shows promise, but at the moment he puts in little to no effort. I believe under the tutelage of my staff and myself that we could unlock his potential and make him the star he should be."

"So you want my son to come to your school because he might become a better student?" Dad frowned uncertainly.

"No. I want your son to come to our school because I know he will do amazing things," she explained, "My employer handpicked your son out of millions to join our school, and I'm sure he wouldn't have done so without very good reason."

"And your employer is?" Dad asked.

"A Samaritan who thinks that investing in the future of our youth is the key to everything, which is why he funds our highly innovative and advanced school," she shrugged before adding. "Who happens to prefer to remain anonymous."

"So what exactly are you pitching us here?" Dad leaned in with interest.

"I'm asking that you consider transferring your son to our school, letting him move in to one of our spacious boy's only dorms, and allow me to do what I do best," she reached over and placed her hand on my head. "Mold young minds. All on a complete scholarship of course."

"Bayville," Dad mused. "That's close to the city, isn't it?"

"Close enough that we can easily take our students in for some culture and once-in-a-lifetime experiences," she nodded. "But far enough away that it proves to be of little distraction."

"It does sound intriguing," Dad looked at me.

"You can't be seriously considering this?" I spat. "They're going to realize in a couple of hours that they've got the wrong kid and send me back."

"Oh, I've got the right kid alright," Ms. Darkholme sat back down and stared at me over the rim of her glasses. "I'm certain of that."

"You get the final say, Lance," Dad promised. "But it sounds like a great opportunity. And it'd surely beat whatever boot camp I'm sure Rebecca's already found."

"You'd really send me away?" I sank back into the couch cushions as the realization hit me.

"I just don't know what else to do," Dad shook his head. "I've tried everything else I can think of, but… you're special, Lance. You've always been special. Maybe you just need a special school to give you the right challenge."

"I can't believe this," I sighed. "You're really shipping me off. I never thought you'd do that."

"I'm not shipping you off, Lance," Dad argued. "I promised you I would never let that happen. You don't have to go if you don't want to, I just… I really do think something like this might be what you need."

"You really think so?" I frowned.

"I think it's worth a try," Dad offered. "You can always come back. Come home."

"Okay," I answered after a long pause before turning back to Ms. Darkholme. "When do we leave?"

"Immediately," she grinned triumphantly.


End file.
